How to Organize A Fashion Pop up Yard Sale

As minimalist lifestyle concepts strike deeper into our system, we cannot help thinking of how everything we own impacts our lives, our homes and most of all, our closets. Living a beautiful life is not about owning beautiful things anymore, but feeling and experiencing as much beauty as possible.

With summer being in full blast, we thought of organizing a series of closet cleaning pop-up events. As we don’t really own any actual back yard or a garage, we thought of adding a twist to the classic yard sale and make it more modern and fashionable.

This is how we came up with a more stylish approach and actually had our own fashion pop up yard sale for the day. We’ve designed some nice posters, flyers, bought balloons and organized our own little outdoor store on a neighborhood corner. Of course this was no easy task, but we’ve kept organized and flexible and everything turned out amazing. Plus, we had a blast!

Here are some of our tips when it comes to organizing the perfect yard sale.

1. Location. Identify the place where you want to do your yard sale.
– Crossroad, residential area with lots of people passing by
– Nearby other events location (street festivals or farmers markets)
– Ideally in the shade, on a grass side walk

2. What to bring– Table, blanket or floor mat
– Rack of clothes
– Chairs, umbrella/tent for yourself
– Balloons to decorate
– Signs and flyers
– Speakers and a cool playlist
– Refreshments or treats for your clients (lemonade and flavored water are great ideas!)

3. How to Display
– Be organized – Make it a pleasure for customers to walk around your pop up yard sale
– Leave space between the areas where you have the products exposed – you want to have as many people there as possible
– Make your products attractive by washing and ironing clothes and also cleaning used shoes
– Have a system to showcase the clothes: group by tops / bottoms, seasonal items, size or price
– Align shoes and accessories, bring boxes and hooks to display small items

4. How to Promote
– Design your own posters and signs for the Pop-Up Shop ( we recommend using Canva )
– Print flyers to distribute to your neighbors
– Use light poles in nearby crossways to display your advertisements
– Print labels or write your own price-tags
– Create an online event on Facebook and ask your friends to share it
– Use a personalized hashtag for Instagram and Twitter
– Ask your friends to share the posts a couple of days before the event

5. Prices and Payments
– Mark all items with a fair value according to used condition
– Research online what other people are charging for similar items
– Create price tags prior to event date – people don’t usually like to ask about the prices
– Be open to negotiate – better to sell them than to bring them back home
– Bring a diversity of cash for change or use Square Reader for debit/credit card purchases

6. On the Day of the Event
– Complete a check-list of what you need (download our event check-list here )
– Pack a big suitcase with the items already organized for and easy set up
– Check the weather to make sure it won’t be raining
– Ask your friends to pass by and create a little buzz
– Bring bags for your clients’ purchases
– Greet people on the street, engage in conversations and smile – this day is also meant to be fun!

Fashion passionate, master of high-low with a keen eye for fashion-forward finds. Style influencer, nature lover and admirer of simplicity. Office life on weekdays and inspiration seeker on weekends. Brazilian who misses the tropical sun, but loves to live by the Pacific Ocean in Vancouver, BC.